• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Become a Premium Member
  • About

Road Bike Rider Cycling Site

Expert road cycling advice, since 2001

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
  • Bikes & Gear
  • Training & Health
  • Reviews
  • Cycling Ebooks
    • Ebooks Training
    • Ebooks Skills
    • E-Articles Training
    • E-Articles Nutrition
  • Member Area
  • Newsletter

Allen Lim: Training Priorities

By Coach Fred Matheny

Lim is an expert in power training, but his coaching approach is often refreshingly candid. Here is a list of his training priorities and the order in which he applies them through the season, along with my commentary:

  1. Volume: establish an endurance base. – Base miles are vital to any program. Cycling is an endurance sport. Speed and power are built on an aerobic base.
  2. Maximize calories burned with a combination of volume and intensity usually at or near lactate threshold. Also, repeats of 10-30 minutes at an intensity that feels hard. – After you build an aerobic base with moderately paced miles, Lim suggests boosting the intensity to time trial pace. His preferred method: lengthy repeats embedded in long rides.
  3. Sustain the training volume and add short (10- to 15-second) very hard efforts. – Awaken fast-twitch muscle fibers with sprints spaced throughout longer rides.
  4. High-intensity interval work (2-5 minutes) at the end of long rides. – Most riders do interval workouts as part of a short ride: warm up, work hard and head home. Not Lim’s riders. They often ride 40 or 50 fairly hard miles before beginning lung-searing intervals. Why? Racing is hard. Training needs to be hard, too.
  5. Race. – Early-season races are for expanding fitness. Real goals come later.
  6. Lactate threshold surge work: high-intensity intermittent repeats of 2-10 minutes and motorpacing. – These tough workouts fine-tune fitness for specific events.
  7. More racing. – After all the previous months’ work, it’s payback time when you reap the benefits of top fitness.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search

Recent Articles

  • Ornot Cycling Winter Gear Review Roundup
  • The Important Role of Carbohydrates
  • How far can you bike tour per day?
  • Front Derailleur / Double Chainring Alternatives

Recent Newsletters

Newsletter Issue No. 1060

Newsletter Issue No. 1059

Newsletter Issue No. 1057

Newsletter Issue No. 1056

Newsletter Issue No. 1055

Footer

Affiliate Disclosure

Our cycling expert editors and writers choose every product we review. We may earn an affiliate commission if you buy from one of our product links, at no extra cost to you. This income supports our site.

Follow Us

  • Pinterest
  • Facebook

Privacy Policy

Still Haven’t Found What You’re Looking For?

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in